Larry Donnell "Donnie" Andrews (April 29, 1954 – December 13, 2012)[1] was an American criminal and anti-crime advocate. He is best known for being the inspiration for the character Omar Little on the HBO series The Wire.

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Andrews grew up in a housing project in West Baltimore, Maryland. He was physically abused by his mother. At the age of nine, he witnessed a man being beaten to death over 15 cents (equivalent to $1.19 in 2017).[2]

Andrews was sentenced to life in prison for the two murders in 1987. He was denied parole on his first attempts, but continued to study, ended his addiction to heroin, and helped other inmates with an anti-gang workshop.[3][5]

By 1998, Burns and Simon, as well as the lead prosecutor who obtained Andrews' conviction, began to lobby for Andrews' release from prison.[3][5] While Andrews was in prison, David Simon sent him copies of the newspaper, and Andrews gave Simon information about crimes taking place in Baltimore. Simon named Andrews a consultant on The Wire, an HBO show about crime in Baltimore which ran from 2002–2008. Simon used Andrews as an inspiration for the character of Omar Little, a stickup artist who never targeted innocent bystanders.[3][6][7]

He portrayed Donnie on The Wire, an associate of Omar and his advisor Butchie.

Andrews was released from prison in 2005.[8][9] He performed youth outreach after his release from prison. His foundation, Why Murder?, attempted to steer children away from a life of crime.[3]